How Harmful are Survey Translations? A Test with Schwartz's Human Values Instrument

One major challenge in international survey research is to ensure the equivalence of translated survey instruments across different cultures. In this study, we examine empirically the extent to which equivalence of survey instruments to measure human values can be established across cultures sharing the same language as opposed to cultures having a different language. We expect cultures using the same language to exhibit higher levels of equivalence. Our examination made use of a short (i.e., a 21-item) survey instrument to measure Schwartz's human values based on data from the second and the third rounds of the European Social Survey (ESS). The empirical results support our expectations.